Verbatim offers world's first 8cm DVD-R DL discs

by Bob Crabtree on 30 August 2006, 11:21

Stores should now be holding stock of the world's first 8cm DVD-R dual layer discs, made by Verbatim and allowing compatible DVD camcorders to carry out up to 54-minutes' continuous recording on a single side.

The 2.6GB (unformatted) write-once discs are said to be compatible with a number of the latest-generation camcorders, including a trio of Canon models due in September, the DC19, DC21 and DC22 (watch the HEXUS.lifestyle front page for details).

VAT-inclusive suggested prices for discs are £6.50 for singles and £32.50 for a five-pack, though web-based resellers will doubtless offer better deals.

Verbatim has already been selling double-layer 8cm DVD+R blanks for a while, so its full line-up of 8cm blanks now looks like this:

DVD-R 1.4GB 4x (with and without injet-printable surface)
DVD-RW 1.4GB 2x
DVD-R DL 2.6GB 2x
DVD+RW 1.4GB 4x
DVD+R DL 2.6GB 2.4x

Use of Verbatim’s "ultra-hard" ScratchGuard protective coating is reckoned to make the discs resistant to abrasion and grease from finger prints, in addition to scratches. The company also claims that "like all of its media", the new discs have an "exceptionally long archive life of 100 years"

Commenting on the launch, Torsten Leye, Verbatim marketing manager optical, said.

The new generation of camcorders come with even more features and performance. Optical storage media has to keep up with this development – both in terms of recording quality and capacity and in terms of durability and usability. Verbatim meets all these requirements with the new Mini DVD-R DL disc - which allows nearly one hour of continuous recording.